Training Areas

Education

M.S., University of Naples 'Federico II'

B.S., University of Naples 'Federico II'

Ph.D., II University of Naples

Postdoc, Molecular Research Institute

Biography

Dr. Filizola is a dedicated leader in computational biophysics of membrane proteins with over 20 years of experience in the application of methods of computational and theoretical chemistry to biochemical and biomedical problems, as well as to rational drug design. A native of Italy, Dr. Filizola received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Chemistry from the University Federico II in Naples. She earned her PhD in Computational Chemistry from the Second University of Naples, though conducting most of her doctoral studies at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. She went on to earn a postdoctorate in Computational Biophysics from the Molecular Research Institute in California. Dr. Filizola’s research program is mainly focused on G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), which are the targets for about half of all currently used drugs. Special effort in her lab has been devoted to the subfamily of opioid receptors to discover/design novel painkillers with reduced abuse liability and other adverse effects. A second important line of investigation in the Filizola lab is on beta3 integrins towards the discovery of novel therapeutics to treat renal, hematologic, neoplastic, bone, and/or fibrotic diseases. For more information, please visit the Filizola Laboratory website. Dr. Filizola’s computational methodologies are closely intertwined with collaborative experimental investigations to provide new and biologically relevant insights into signal transduction processes triggered by molecular recognition, giving rise to new hypotheses to guide further experimental inquiry. Dr. Filizola is the author of several patents and over 85 publications in the field of computational biophysics. She is currently a tenured Full Professor in the Department of Structural and Chemical Biology, and co-Director of the Biophysics and Systems Pharmacology PhD Program of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Sinai.

Awards

2009 - present Independent Scientist Award (KO2) NIH-NIDA

2008 - The Doctor Harold and Golden Lamport Award for Excellence in Basic Research Mount Sinai School of Medicine

2001 - National Research Service Award T32 DA07135 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA

1999 - Title of European Doctor in Biotechnology European Association for Higher Education in Biotechnology

Research

Computational Biophysics of Membrane Proteins

The overall goal of current research programs in the Filizola Laboratory is to obtain rigorous mechanistic insight into the structure, dynamics, and function of important classes of membrane proteins that are prominent drug targets of the human ‘druggable’ genome (e.g., G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), integrins, etc.) for the purpose of developing improved therapeutics. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the complex biological functions of these proteins has direct translational relevance because it informs the rational discovery of potentially improved therapeutic agents, as a recent, collaborative patent application on novel anti-thrombotic agents (with Dr. Barry Coller at Rockefeller University) demonstrates.

The Filizola Laboratory uses computational structural biology tools, ranging from molecular modeling, bioinformatics, chemoinformatics, simulation, and rational drug design approaches. Their research requires complementary, multi-disciplinary expertise in biological, medical, and quantitative sciences, and as such, it strongly relies on team science as demonstrated by recent collaborations with world-renowned experimental leaders, as well as recent publications in Cell, Nature, Science Translational Medicine, PNAS, Blood, etc. Through application and implementation of cutting-edge developments in theory and simulation, the Filizola Laboratory contributes a level of molecular detail that is impossible or difficult to obtain experimentally. This information lays the foundation for novel experimental studies aimed at furthering current understanding of physiological functions, and at developing new therapeutic strategies.